Ibrahimovic moving closer to full recovery

Zlatan Ibrahimovic looked the picture of relaxation as he reclined in a sun lounger by a swimming pool in Miami resting his swollen knee following season-ending surgery.

The Manchester United star was seen without the leg brace that he was pictured in just last week after he underwent a successful operation in America.

The 35-year-old’s debut season in England came to an abrupt end after he suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury in the Europa League quarter final win over Anderlecht.

Ibrahimovic landed awkwardly on his right knee at the end of normal time in the 2-1 win over the Belgian side last month and had to be helped off the pitch.

Though he may have played his last game at Old Trafford, the Swedish star looked unconcerned as he lay back with his hands on his head while wearing sunglasses, but his knee is evidently swollen.

The Swedish striker underwent successful surgery with knee specialist Dr Freddie Fu, at the University of Pittsburgh’s Medical Center, to repair the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments and is confident of a full recovery.

And Ibrahimovic is now embracing his recovery period as he waits for his return to first-team action.

Following his free transfer to United the veteran has excelled during a prolific season in which he has mustered 28 goals and nine assists in 46 appearances.

In an Instagram post a week ago he wrote: ‘Fixed, done and stronger. Once again thank you for the support. We will enjoy my game together soon.’

The player had stalled on extending his £250,000-a-week contract at United before suffering the injury, and there are doubts that he will make a full recovery at the age of 35.

However, United, who paid for his travel to the United States, will give the Swedish star full access to their training and medical facilities at Carrington beyond the end of his current contract on June 30 even though he is expected to be out of action until the start of next year.

One option is for United to agree an insurance waiver with Ibrahimovic in much the same way that goalkeeper Victor Valdes trained at Carrington at the end of 2014 before signing for the club.

Despite concerns over his powers of recovery, Ibrahimovic’s agent Raiola claims that the surgeons who performed the operation were amazed by his knee which is ‘so strong’.

Raiola told Swedish publication Expressen.se: ‘Zlatan has started rehabilitation at the hospital. His knee is so strong that the doctors said they had never seen anything like it.